New to the Program....

Welcome to the site! I don't have the answer because I haven't quite learned that either but I can tell you this is where you'll find answers to everything.

You're allowed to eat your extra calories

Your body burns around 1300 calories a day sitting around doing nothing. If you eat 1200, you'll burn more than you're putting in. If you burn another 300 doing exercise, you can eat another 300!

Hi, there was just a topic about that posted by one of the "advanced members?" (sorry, if I'm undermining someone - not sure how the hierarchy looks like here) yesterday on this
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits

Supposedly you do have to eat the calories back - I never really paid attention to it. People have told me that as a response to my frustrations, too - I keep a diet and exercise every day and I keep gaining. Someone told me that's because I don't eat the calories back.

I guess you have to NET at 1200 kcal every day. Also, be careful when entering the exercise - I think it absolutely overestimates the calories burned.

Keep reading the forums - lots of info there.

Ok, here's the deal (without knowing your weight - so I'll use fake numbers): In order to get the minimum nourishment your body needs, you MUST eat 1200 calories. Below that you start to chance all sorts of medical things. You will loose weight still - but it will be mostly muscle and that is NOT good, it slows your metabolism, etc and you'll just gain very quickly when you go back to eating normally. Ok, so MFP will never set your calories below 1200.

In order to lose 2 pounds per week, you need to put your body in a 7,000 calorie a week deficit (purely by the numbers) or 1,000 calories a day. So, if you are eating 1,200 calories net, then your body needs to require 2,200 calories to maintain your weigh --- which means you need to (roughly - utilizing the weight *10 for a women formula which most agree isn't completely accurate) 220 pounds. Granted once you start exercising and our metabolism increases, etc this may be less. But you get the general idea.

So, if you have only (I know it doesn't feel like only) 20-30 pounds to lose, your projected weight loss probably won't equal 2 pounds per week because it is not mathematically possible while still eating at healthy levels.

Yes, you should eat your exercise calories back. Your body needs the energy to repair the muscles that you stress during exercise. This is a good thing. Not everyone eats back all their exercise calories (I am one of them in the spirit of full disclosure). I only eat about half of them back after a hard workout --- if it is walking I don't eat them back because I don't feel like I sufficiently stressed my muscles. But, you need to do what works for you -- being fulling informed. I highly suggested doing a search on "eating back my exercise calories" both here and on google. You'll find a plethora of information and be able to make an informed decision on what is best for you vs just taking the word of people you don't know (not that these aren't wonderful people - they are! But you are new here and don't know that!)